Athens City Center to Have Restricted Vehicle Access for Oxi Day Parades; National Roadway Network Detours Over Weekend

This Friday vehicles will not be able to enter many roads around the city center of Athens as the capital will be closed off for the annual Oxi Day parades, which commemorates Greece’s former military general and Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas saying “No” or “Oxi” to an ultimatum by Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini to allow Italian forces to occupy strategic locations in Greece or be forced to enter into WWII on October 28, 1940.

There will also be traffic restrictions that will extend into the weekend throughout parts of the national roadway. One restriction that will impact the Athens-Patra highway is the section between the Elefsina and Rio toll gates. Sections of the Athens-Thessaloniki national highway will also be effected near exits for Agios Stefanos, Lamia and Larissa. Also the sections connecting Thessaloniki and Nea Moudania as well as Thessaloniki and Kavala will have detours.

These restrictions and diversions of traffic come on what is a busier than usual weekend for Greeks as in celebration of Oxi Day, many people opt to return to their villages over the long weekend.